Principal Investigator(s):
United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census

Summary:

The 1940 Census Public Use Microdata Sample Project was
assembled through a collaborative effort between the United States
Bureau of the Census and the Center for Demography and Ecology at the
University of Wisconsin. The collection contains a stratified
1-percent sample of households, with separate records for each
household, for each "sample line" respondent, and for each person in
the household. These records were encoded from microfilm copies of
original handwritten enumeration schedules from the 1940 Census of
Population. Geographic identification of the location of the sampled
households includes Census regions and divisions, states (except
Alaska and Hawaii), standard metropolitan areas (SMAs), and state
economic areas (SEAs). Accompanying the data collection is a codebook
that includes an abstract, descriptions of sample design, processing
procedures and file structure, a data dictionary (record layout),
category code lists, and a glossary. Also included is a procedural
history of the 1940 Census. Each of the 20 subsamples contains three
record types: household, sample line, and person. Household variables
describe the location and condition of the household. The sample line
records contain variables describing demographic characteristics such
as nativity, marital status, number of children, veteran status, wage
deductions for Social Security, and occupation. Person records also
contain variables describing demographic characteristics including
nativity, marital status, family membership, education, employment
status, income, and occupation.

The 1940 Census Public Use Microdata Sample Project was
assembled through a collaborative effort between the United States
Bureau of the Census and the Center for Demography and Ecology at the
University of Wisconsin. The collection contains a stratified
1-percent sample of households, with separate records for each
household, for each "sample line" respondent, and for each person in
the household. These records were encoded from microfilm copies of
original handwritten enumeration schedules from the 1940 Census of
Population. Geographic identification of the location of the sampled
households includes Census regions and divisions, states (except
Alaska and Hawaii), standard metropolitan areas (SMAs), and state
economic areas (SEAs). Accompanying the data collection is a codebook
that includes an abstract, descriptions of sample design, processing
procedures and file structure, a data dictionary (record layout),
category code lists, and a glossary. Also included is a procedural
history of the 1940 Census. Each of the 20 subsamples contains three
record types: household, sample line, and person. Household variables
describe the location and condition of the household. The sample line
records contain variables describing demographic characteristics such
as nativity, marital status, number of children, veteran status, wage
deductions for Social Security, and occupation. Person records also
contain variables describing demographic characteristics including
nativity, marital status, family membership, education, employment
status, income, and occupation.

Access Notes

Data in this collection are available only to users at ICPSR member institutions.
Please log in so we can determine if you are with a member institution and have
access to these data files.

Dataset(s)

WARNING: Because this study has many datasets, the download all files option has been suppressed, and you will need to download one dataset at a time.

WARNING: This study is over 150MB in size and may take several minutes to download on a typical internet connection.

Study Description

Citation

United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Census of Population, 1940 [United States]: Public Use Microdata Sample. ICPSR08236-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1984. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08236.v1

Universe:
All people and households within the United States
recorded on the 1940 Census.

Data Type(s):
census/enumeration data

Data Collection Notes:

The data files are arranged by subsample, with
each subsample stored as a separate physical file of information.
Within each of the 20 subsamples, records are sequenced by
state. Extracting all of the records for one state entails reading
through all of the 20 physical files and selecting that state's
records from each of the 20 subsamples.

The collection consists of
a total of 2,133,800 hierarchical records: 391,034 household records,
391,034 sample line records, and 1,351,732 person records.

Methodology

Sample:
The 1940 Census had both a complete count and a sample
component. Individuals selected for the sample component were asked an
additional set of questions. Only households with persons who answered
the additional questions were included in the public use microdata
sample. The collection also contains records of group quarters members
who were also on the Census sample line. The 20 subsamples were
selected randomly.

Data Source:

microfilm copies of original handwritten enumeration
schedules from the 1940 Census

Version(s)

Original ICPSR Release: 1984-11-12

Version History:

2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 21 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads.

2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 21 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads.